New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-08-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

sy .cS TIE Ers sri n Tosro
iatod from the Russian. 16mo, PIP. T. ZA|' 1no"~'
r Crowell Co.
t,oth The short works included in this volume
.,s fragments whose significance will not be fuiy
understood without an acquaintance win otner
cuttings of the author. MY Confession" Is Writ
u.,,v an introduction to MY Religion" ana
.hon,d no read in connection with IL; while Inc
Shirt of Clrist's Teaching" extracted from
,arcer unpublished treatise, is an attempt 10
interpret the Gospels in harmony with rehglous
views which are here only imperfectly developer
Roth ESSAYS. however, although logically inconi-
rlcte. are deeply interesting in themselves. NY
Confession describes with great force the 'ons
period Of mental disquiet through ",ii'n
writer passed before he found refuge III
trio and cxtravagant form OF oeHei '"
he. now clings: and it is a remarh"o,' -
Of intellectual disorders which are pro"'
common in Russia than mcst OIL US e
ro,sto; like nearly all his class, iofmeu 'no
scentical habit early in life; but ne was '''O'
bicb.minded. serious reflective, ana ms temper"
men1 although he did not know IT, was ih,cnS.N
RELIGIONS. The problem OF Lie' whaU 10 '
80. doos IL mean? presented itself to him as
n terrible perplexity. lie founo u'ao INC peop'S
with whom he associated, that is, the educated
in one of four ways: either they were too stupid
70 think of it at all, or they gave themselves up
IN epicurean pleasures, to get what they could
ont Of an evil existence; or, realizing that HE
is wholly an evil, they put an end to IL py
suicide: or. seeing the absurdity Of life, ana
knowing that death is better, they continued 10
drag on the burden through sheer weakness Oh
will Tolstoi belonged to this fourth Glass; ire
oncntly incning to suicide, but reco'lhg from
it because lalthough this reason apparently does
not occur to HIM he was of much 700 stfohg anu
osnirinp n character for such cowardly surren-
der lie sought an answer TO his problem from
metaphysics and he got nothing but entity de-
bate upon useless distractions. lie consuNeu
physical science, and it gave him theories OF
DEVELOPMENT which explained nothing, and which
he treats with lofty scorn
The most striking thing about this part of the
Confession is that to man of such vigorous
.reli ,ious impulses the Russian church did not
suggest itself as a guide out of the maze OF
trouble. TO the upper classes in Russia the
national religion seems to be an impossible re-
source. They no more think Of looking to it
10 satisfy the aspirations of the soul than an
,ld-time South Carolina planter would have thought
OF getting religion at negro chapel. The Or
thodox Church is useful as police agency, and
il is vulgar and superstitous institution adapted
only to PEASANTS and served by ministers with
whom people in society do not associate. In no
other civilized country has the established or
prevalent church fallen to such condition and
religion become practically mark of distinction
between the common people and the aristocracy.
When Count Tolstoi did finally seek satisfaction
in churchgoing the sacraments and ceremonial
observances, it is significant that he put aside
rank and gentility and tried to make himself
one with the peasantry whose practices he was
copying The Church had spoken no message to
him. No word of hers had aroused in him the
capacity for faith lie believed that he had
found the solution of the problem of Life i'll the
brotherhood of man and the dignity and duty of
labor and when in accordance with this idea, he |
embraced the condition of the working class, he |
accepted the Church along with the other APP |
purtenances of humble existence. short trial
satisfied him that Orthodoxy n sham, and he
evolved for himself faith of which he has |
elsewhere given an account.
These are many of the points of it in The |
%bit of Christ's Teaching" an exposition Of |
the Gospels in which Count Tolstoi endeavors to
present plain connected statement Of the actual |
doctrine of Christ as recorded by the evangelsts |
and purified from the CLOSES, additions and |
msinterpretations heaped about it by men, from |
st. Paul down. 1t is hardly necessary to say |
that what he does is something entirely different
from what he thinks that he does. No common
tator ever read more of his ideas into sacred
narrative than this noble enthusiast who believes
that he is drawing the true lineaments of Chfist
when he is only ainting portrait of himself.